What California requires a seller to disclose

California's disclosure regime is broad, and the underlying principle is simple: a seller must disclose known material facts affecting the value or desirability of the property. Not guesses, not things you couldn't know — but what you know.

For sellers, the instinct is to say as little as possible. That instinct is wrong, and it is the most expensive mistake in residential real estate. Non-disclosure claims surface years later, and they are far worse than the repair would have been. Disclose it. All of it. A disclosed problem is a negotiation. An undisclosed one is a lawsuit.

For buyers: read every page. This package is where the house tells you the truth.

The main documents

Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS)

The statutory core, required for most residential sales of one to four units. The seller works through the property's systems and conditions and states what they know — and significantly, what they know is not working. Some transfers are exempt (certain trust, probate and foreclosure situations), which is worth checking early because it changes what a buyer will and won't receive.

Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ)

Not a statutory form — a standard-practice one that goes considerably further than the TDS. Neighbour disputes, insurance claims, deaths on the property, pets, work done without permits, issues with an HOA. This is where the detail lives, and where a careful buyer learns the most.

Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD)

Whether the property sits in a designated flood zone, a fire hazard severity zone, an earthquake fault zone, a seismic hazard zone, or a dam inundation area. Normally produced by a third-party report company. In San Diego County, read the fire section carefully — it bears directly on what your insurance will cost, and increasingly on whether standard carriers will write you at all.

Check for yourself: CAL FIRE hazard severity zones · FEMA Map Service Center · California FAIR Plan

Mello-Roos and special assessment notice

If the property is inside a Community Facilities District or a 1915 Act assessment district, California requires the seller to give notice of the special tax. This is the document buyers in Del Sur, 4S Ranch and Torrey Highlands must actually read. Do not skim it, and do not take the figure from a listing — verify it against the parcel's own bill.

Pull the tax bill · Run the real number through the estimator

Lead-based paint disclosure

Federal requirement for homes built before 1978. The seller discloses known lead-based paint and provides the EPA pamphlet; the buyer normally gets a period to test.

Agent Visual Inspection Disclosure (AVID)

California requires the agent to conduct a reasonably competent visual inspection of accessible areas and disclose what they observed. This is my disclosure, not the seller's, and it carries my name.

I take it seriously. If I see something, it goes on the form — including when it makes my own seller's transaction harder. That is the deal with holding a licence.

The others

• Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors — compliance is required.
• Water heater bracing — required against earthquake displacement.
• Megan's Law notice — a statutory notice appears in the contract advising buyers where to search the database. Neither agent conducts the search.
• Death on the property — deaths within the past three years are generally disclosable.
• HOA documents — governing documents, budget, reserve study, minutes and any pending litigation or special assessment. Order these the day escrow opens; they are frequently the slowest item in the transaction.
• Permit history — unpermitted work is a recurring theme, especially with converted garages and additions. In the City of San Diego you can research it yourself via Information Bulletin 110. Note that Poway and the unincorporated areas including 4S Ranch are different jurisdictions with their own records.

The one thing to take away

Sellers: when you are unsure whether something needs disclosing, disclose it. There is no version of this where saying more costs you what saying less can.

Buyers: the disclosure package is not paperwork. It is the seller telling you, in writing and under legal obligation, what is wrong with the house. Read all of it, including the parts that look like boilerplate.

Further reading from the regulator: DRE — Disclosures in Real Property Transactions (RE 6) · DRE consumer resources